Summary The amphibious, float-equipped deHavilland DHC-2Mk.1, Beaver, C-GHAF, serial number1408, left Nanaimo, BritishColumbia, and landed at Penticton Airport at 1232 Pacific daylight time (PDT). The aircraft was fuelled with 184litres of fuel, filling all three belly tanks. At this time, the rear portion of the aircraft cabin was observed to be loaded with luggage and cargo. The pilot/aircraft owner was planning his flight to Calgary (Springbank), Alberta, and spent at least an hour flight planning and talking with the Kamloops Flight Information Centre by telephone. He had some difficulty determining a route to fly to Springbank, because of airspace restrictions due to forest fires, but decided on a routing of Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Revelstoke, and Springbank. The aircraft took off from Penticton Airport at 1420 PDT, with the pilot and two passengers on board and crashed approximately seven minutes later in a ravine of Penticton Creek, 11nautical miles northeast of Penticton Airport. A post-impact fire broke out and consumed most of the fuselage area. The fire caused a small forest fire, seen by a firefighting aircraft crew. There were no radio calls from the occurrence aircraft, and the three occupants were fatally injured. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information The pilot held a valid private pilot licence issued by Transport Canada (TC) and was endorsed for single-engine landplanes and seaplanes. The medical certificate had a restriction that glasses must be worn; it indicated that the last medical was conducted on 03July2002, and was valid to the first day of the 25thmonth after examination. He had accumulated approximately 915flying hours on light, single-engine aircraft, including 615hours on the DHC-2Beaver. An autopsy and a full toxicology examination of the pilot did not reveal any condition that could have led to or contributed to the accident. It could not be determined whether the pilot was wearing glasses at the time of the occurrence. One of the passengers was a licenced private pilot. When the aircraft arrived in Penticton, this person was observed to be occupying the left seat, the pilot position in the DHC-2Beaver. When the aircraft had to be moved to another position on the ramp at Penticton for refuelling, she was observed taxiing the aircraft from the left seat. She had accumulated approximately 200flying hours on light, single-engine aircraft and had flown C-GHAF in the past, but the number of hours flown in the aircraft could not be determined. It could not be determined who occupied the left seat on departure from Penticton, or who was flying the aircraft; the aircraft was fitted with dual controls. The passenger held a private pilot licence issued by TC and was endorsed for single-engine landplanes and seaplanes. Her medical certificate indicates that the last medical was conducted on 16October2001 and was valid to the first day of the 25thmonth after examination. Information from the passenger's family doctor indicated that she suffered from a number of illnesses, including coronary artery disease, and she was cautioned that her condition might have an adverse affect on flight safety. This information was not passed to TC by the family doctor in accordance with Section6.5 of the AeronauticsAct. When she underwent her last medical, she did not advise the TC medical examiner that she had recently been diagnosed with this condition. However, in June2003, she had undergone extensive tests at the Mayo Clinic and her condition had been assessed as stable. She continued to take blood pressure lowering medication, a beta blocker, a blood thinner, and aspirin, as well as various medications for abdominal problems. The remains of containers for some of these medications were found in the wreckage. Autopsies conducted on both passengers were limited to external examination, and no toxicological tests were conducted. Records indicate that the aircraft was certified, equipped, and maintained in accordance with existing regulations and approved procedures. The aircraft was manufactured in1958 and had flown a total of 9029.9hours as of 01May2003. A review of the airframe, engine, and propellor logbooks showed nothing remarkable, except as noted below. The engine, a Pratt Whitney R-985-AN-1, serial number42-21504, had accumulated 558.4hours since overhaul. The reported weather at Penticton, 11nautical miles southwest of the accident site, at 1400, approximately 27minutes before the accident, was as follows: wind 340True at 4knots; visibility 10statute miles; a few clouds at 7000feet; temperature 26Celsius; dew point 10C; altimeter setting 30.14; remarks: 1okta cumulus, light smoke, sea-level pressure 1020.4hectopascals. The reported weather at Penticton at 1500, approximately 33minutes after the accident, was almost identical. The density altitude at Penticton was calculated to be 2427feet above sea level (asl). Penticton elevation is 1129feet asl. The wreckage was found at the bottom of the steep ravine in which Penticton Creek is located, at an elevation of about 4800feet asl. The wreckage was lying across the creek on a heading of about 305Magnetic (M). The aircraft had initially hit four tree tops. Tree damage and contact markings indicated that the aircraft struck the first two tree tops in a wings-level, climbing attitude, and the third and fourth tree tops in a descending attitude. The wreckage trail was oriented on a heading of 360M, 90degrees to the saddle that the aircraft was approaching. Fire consumed most of the fuselage, the inboard right wing, and the right float. There were no soot streaks observed on the aircraft; there was some paint bubbling, which had been caused by the fire. All control cables and push rods were found either intact, cut by rescue personnel, broken by impact forces, or destroyed by fire. Flight control cable continuity could not be established due to the extensive fire damage. There was no smell of fuel or other indication of the presence of fuel in the wing tip tanks. The outboard one foot of both propellor blades showed heavy curling, leading-edge damage, and chord-wise scratching. The propellor section that remained attached to the engine showed backward bending and extreme twisting on one blade. The engine showed some impact damage and extensive fire damage. The fuselage, forward of the baggage compartment, was destroyed by impact and fire. The three belly fuel tanks were entirely destroyed by fire except for their sender units. The right float was almost completely destroyed by fire. The left float was intact, with the nose gear area somewhat damaged by impact. The landing gear was determined to be retracted. Cargo and other articles found in and around the wreckage were weighed using certified scales; the total weight of the recovered articles was 195pounds. Some of the cargo was not recovered because it was destroyed by fire, was carried away from the accident site by the creek, was damaged so significantly that it could not be recovered (such as shards of glass and crockery seen in the creek), or was not found. Some items that were weighed would probably have been heavier when they were on board the aircraft before the crash. For example, five broken but unopened 4-litre plastic containers of aviation oil and one 1.75-quart rubber container of used oil were recovered, but contained only a trace of oil. When full, the unopened containers would have weighed over 40pounds and the used oil container about four pounds. Nothing could be found to indicate the pilot had completed a weight and balance calculation prior to taking off from Penticton. Post-accident weight and balance calculations, using reported occupant weights, full belly fuel tanks, and the weight of the cargo recovered from the accident site, suggested that the aircraft take-off weight was at least 5350pounds, with the centre of gravity at 3.2inches forward of the datum. The aircraft was being operated at a maximum allowable take-off weight (MTOW) of 5370pounds in the belief that the installation of Wipline 6100A floats, in accordance with Supplementary Type Certificate (STC) numberSA610GL, raised the MTOW to 5370pounds. However, this STC specifies, under limitations and conditions, that the MTOW will be 5100pounds, or 5370pounds when appropriate structural modifications are incorporated. It was determined that only two out of five of these modifications were incorporated. The correct MTOW is, therefore, 5100pounds, and the allowable centre of gravity range is 1.25to 6.1inches aft of the datum.